Why Santa Why? As I was walking around the lake near my house, I took notice of a holiday display in the back yard of this home that is adjacent to the walking path. It was festooned with good number of those inflatable decorations that seem to be very popular these days. I am not sure I care for them, but they are interesting. I am more of a plastic nativity scene kind of person myself. Call me old fashioned I guess. One particular (somewhat disturbing) inflatable caught my eye. As an artist and lover of the bizarre, I was understandably curious. It depicts Santa wearing a camo shirt leaning out of some kind of structure, perhaps a tree stand, holding a gun. A reindeer looks up at him with an expression of understandable worry. A diligent penguin surveys the landscape with binoculars. (I included a copy from Google for a better look) What in the world is going on here? All art, even questionable art, has a narrative. We as the viewer should take something away from this. Ask, what is it telling us? At first glance, it would seem that it is just a whimsical depiction of Santa and his penguin companion out for a hunt, and this deer is understandably nervous. Perhaps, just perhaps there is another story here. One less obvious to the casual observer. Is it a statement on first amendment rights, pro or con? “Even Jolly old Saint Nick supports your right to keep and bear arms.” This kinda makes sense. If you are going to make your living wandering in and out of millions of homes in the middle of the night, it might not be a bad idea to carry some protection. The world can be a dangerous place. On the other hand, it might be an anti-gun statement. “See what guns have done to our society, they have even tainted Santa.” The neighbors said he seemed to be a quiet normal fellow in spite of the fact he appeared to be carrying on some kind of large somewhat suspicious manufacturing\distribution facility with his wife some deer and a large number of oddly dressed little people. Ponder this. I recently saw something that said, consuming bad food can be blamed for any number of societal ills. Could this be a not so subtle commentary on the consequences of our nutritional choices? “After binging all night on cookies and milk, Santa had a bad reaction to an overdose of sugar, gluten, and lactose. Upon his return home, he brandished a weapon with predictable results.” Maybe this is simply a commentary on the way other countries see us. Do you ever wander what the masses of people from China, India and the scores of other countries that manufacture American goods think about us based on the products they are producing? Do they make millions of Chia Pets, florescent sneakers and inflatable Christmas decorations, shake their heads and think, “Oh those kooky Americans, what will they buy next?” Do they see us as a country of mindless consumers who really like guns? Look deeper and you just might see a profound statement on the environment and global climate change. “After warming temperatures melted the snow that once made up this scenic homeland, food became scarce. Sadly, Santa was forced to shoot his beloved reindeer as anarchy reined over the North Pole. Prancer was the first to go. Now go buy an electric car you selfish bastards.” Perhaps I am over thinking it. If we heed the words of Sigmund Freud, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” Therefore, a Christmas decoration is sometimes just a Christmas decoration. I am not sure what is going on here. It is just another interesting aspect of the modern day holiday season in America? Lucky for you I am her to ask these important and thought provoking questions. I do not think it is good or bad, all I know is that I want one.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 19:52:07 +0000
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